North Korea slams Japan's move to revise key security documents

Pyongyang, May 3 North Korea on Monday criticised Japan over its move to overhaul key security legislation, calling it "a brazen challenge to global peace and humanity." The North's criticism came as Japan has been seeking to revise its three key security documents -- the National Security Strategy, National Defence Strategy and Defence Buildup Program -- within this year. The effort is widely seen as a response to China's growing military presence in the region and other regional security threats, Yonhap news agency reported. Pyongyang denounced the move as a "sly scheme" by Japan to "realise their ambition of reinvasion amid escalating global tensions," according to an article published by Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. The article stressed the revision's core provisions include an increased defence budget, the lifting of restrictions on arms exports and the expansion of military capabilities, concluding the changes are "undoubtedly aimed at reviving its arms industry and increasing its war capability." Last month, the Japanese government officially revised "the three principles on transfer of defence equipment and technology" and their implementation guidelines to allow overseas sales of weapons, including those with lethal capabilities, despite waves of large-scale protests, local media reported. The revisions scrap rules that limit Japan's defence equipment exports to five non-combat categories, namely rescue, transport, warning, surveillance, and minesweeping. Instead, defence equipment will be divided into "weapons" and "non-weapons" categories, based on whether they have lethal or destructive capabilities, reports Xinhua, quoting Kyodo News. The revision maintains unrestricted exports of non-weapons such as warning and control radar systems, while allowing the export of weapons, including destroyers and missiles, previously prohibited, to countries that have signed agreements with Japan on protecting classified information related to defence equipment and technology. In October 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi voiced her readiness to further accelerate Japan's military buildup, pledging to raise the country's defence budget to 2 per cent of GDP by 2026 March, two years ahead of the plan, and revise the National Security Strategy and two other key defence documents by the end of 2026. – Source : IANS